Would You?
by midlifecrisses
Summary: Chris needs Darren's help with a home improvement project, but Darren has his own agenda. CrissColfer RPF
1. Could You?

_A/N: So this is only my second__ fic so please be gentle with me. It is not beta'd so sorry for the mistakes that slipped through the cracks. It was supposed to be set this weekend (Aug 5__th__) but I forgot about the premier. So it now takes place the last weekend of July (but it does explain Darren's ring in the live chat interview O_o). Enjoy._

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of its characters and this is purely fiction and purely for fun.

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"Darren, your local Chinese food place is so much better than mine" declared Chris as he took a huge mouthful from the carton in front of him.

"Yeah …but your pizza place trumps mine" Darren replied mouth half full of food.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, both men enjoying the food and the company. It had been a long Friday on set and they were both looking forward to a quiet night.

Chris was so preoccupied with his chopsticks that he missed the mischievous gleam in Darren's eyes. Darren scooted closer to the table and began to play footsie with the boy across from him. Chris allowed himself a slight smile, but otherwise he gave no indication that he felt Darren's foot at all. Instead he began what he thought would be the most causal of conversations.

"Work doesn't start for two weeks, but this is our last free weekend, seeing how the movie premier is next week. How were you planning on spending it?"

Darren's foot was now at Chris' inner thigh caressing him through his jeans. "Well," he said just as casually "I'd love to have my cake and eat it too. Actually I'd love a piece of cake right now". He said the last sentence a little softer than the first.

"Darren, I said 'weekend plans' not 'dessert plans' " chastised Chris.

"I was talking about the weekend" Darren sighed, sliding down on his chair so he could move his foot even further up Chris' thigh. "I would love to spend the weekend making love to the light of my life…" he looked straight at Chris and winked.

Chris' heart did a little flip-flop. "And if that doesn't work out…?"

"Well, I guess I'll try to spend as much of it as I can with my best friend" Darren replied easily, his leg and ego getting tired from his inability to break Chris' cool exterior.

"And if that doesn't work out…?" Chris gave a smug grin as he felt Darren remove his foot from his thigh. Inwardly he pouted a little because the foot had not only been warm to the touch, but it had made him feel warm inside.

"Well I _guess_ I'll spend some time with _you_… _if you can fit me in._" Darren tried to sound exasperated, but the twinkle in his eyes gave him away.

"So… you were planning on coming over tomorrow…"

"Yeah… _duh_… I need my CrissColfer fix." Darren was winking again.

"But I'm here _now_?" Chris questioned, tilting his head and squinting a little. Darren's heart did its own flip-flop.

"Oh, no, no… you came to me – this is _your_ CrissColfer fix and don't try to deny it"

Chris felt himself blush. "Well what about Sunday?" He just had to ask.

"Oh it will be _you_ again... you just can't seem to stay away from me" replied the older boy with mock seriousness and a wiggle of his triangular shaped brows.

Chris saw and opening and grabbed it. He had taken off his shoes after Darren had abandoned his thigh. He swiftly stretched his leg out under the table toward Darren's crotch. Because his legs were significantly longer than Darren's, he was able to push his sock clad foot directly between Darren's legs. _Redemption_ Chris thought.

Darren gasped for breath, throwing his arms in the air. He pushed back from the table, coughing frantically. _Oh my God! Darren was choking!_ Chris rushed to Darren's side pounding him on the back.

When the shorter man's coughing had subsided, he rushed into the kitchen coming back with a glass of water.

"I'm so sorry Darren!" Chris was looking at his friend's face still flushed from the coughing fit.

Darren waved him off with his hand and spoke haltingly. "Good move buddy… next time just give me some warning …my mouth was full of food."

Chris face dropped; it did not go unnoticed by Darren. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm so horrible at this" Chris faltered, waving his hands around. "Flirting, …being close to someone. If I ever get a boyfriend, I'll probably kill him. Remember the fire?" Darren smiled. Yes, he remembered the fire and as a result Chris was no longer allowed to use the stove in Darren's apartment.

"Aw come on, you're a great flirter – I think I blushed at your comments once or twice today alone." Darren was trying to make Chris feel better – but wasn't working. "You're gonna make someone a great boyfriend. But until then – you've got me to practice on."

"How many lives do you think you have left?" Chris was pouting and he was adorable.

"More than enough to handle you Mr. Colfer" That got a smile out of Chris. "Are you ready to watch a movie?" A nod and a smile. _Hot damn Darren was on a roll_. "How 'bout a scary one tonight? – You can practice cuddling me and keeping me safe." A big smile and a blush. _Checkmate_. Darren grinned his goofy grin and held his hand out for the younger boy to take.

~o~0~o~

Chris woke up with a start. There was a faint blue glare from the TV. The movie had ended, probably quite some time ago. The first thing he felt was Darren draped over him, sleeping heavily on his chest. The second thing he felt was his hard-on straining against his pants and after he mentally face palmed himself he realized he could feel something else poking against his leg, something that did not belong to him. He blushed in the dark. He had to get out of this situation, _now_.

He wrapped his arms around Darren and slowly turned the older boy to the back of the couch. Darren mumbled something and wrapped his own arm around the younger boy. Chris lifted up Darren's arm and slid out of his grasp to the floor. As soon as Chris was off the couch, Darren rolled forward onto the seat. He lifted his head up confused. "Gotta go to the bathroom" Chris whispered by way of explanation and he started for the hall bath.

Darren muttered something like "Me too" got up and headed for the master bath in his bedroom.

Chris after using the toilet, a feat in itself, Chris slashed some water on his face and took a moment to collect himself. He walked across the hall into Darren's room. Darren was already in bed. The older boy lifted up the sheet in response to Chris' presence. Chris sighed, smiled and wiggled himself out of his jeans. Creeping in beside his _friend_, spooning against Darren's chest and stomach, Chris felt the butterflies start up again. The older boy's arm wrapped around him, and together they both gave a collective sigh and were soon asleep.

~o~0~o~

Chris did not sleep long. He was playing the 'what if' game with himself. His thoughts, feelings and fears were causing his chest to ache and head to pound. He turned around to look at Darren, still blissfully asleep. Darren. He didn't want a first boyfriend. _He wanted Darren_. He wanted Darren so bad it hurt, _in more places than one_. He looked at his watch - time to get up. He shrugged back into his jeans, leaned over, and kissed Darren's forehead wishing he did not have to leave so early.

As if he was Sleeping Beauty, Darren's eyes fluttered open and he smiled up at Chris. "I have to go" Chris whispered and Darren groaned reaching for him, making Chris blush.

"Do you have a drill?" Chris had meant to ask last night, but he had gotten caught up in the cuddling and protecting.

Darren picked his head up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What?"

"A drill - a tool used to make holes and fasten pieces of wood together…"

"I know what a drill is…"

"Do you have one?"

"Yes …somewhere" Darren was covering is head with his pillow.

"Could you find it and be by my house in two hours?"

"Mmph" was all Chris heard.

"Is that a Yes?"

"Mmph" came the reply.

Chris lifted up the pillow and kissed Darren's cheek, sweetly saying "Thanks honey, see you at ten." He dropped the pillow back to its original position.

"Lumph you" came out from under the pillow.

"Love you too!" Chris said heading for the door, blushing and smiling from ear to ear.

He had to get home in time for the delivery men.

~o~0~o~

Ten o'clock on the dot there was a knock at Chris' door. He opened it to find Darren leaning against his door post with two coffees and the drill case. "You can't still be tired?' Chris chastised.

Darren perked up when he saw Chris, well when he saw what the younger man was wearing. Chris had on a tight navy blue pocket T. Darren could see the outline of Chris' developing pectorals under the tight shirt and there was nothing to hide the swells and valleys of Chris' upper arms. Chris' time in the gym was paying off _in a big way_ and Darren wondered if Chris could hear his heart speed up. Not able to help himself, Darren's eyes travelled lower. There he found Chris' simple black running shorts, not cargos but _actual shorts_ – more than 5 inches of porcelain skin could be seen on each of Chris' thighs. Darren's heart hitched and his cock twitched and he tried to _not_ picture those shorts strewn casually on his bedroom floor.

He took a deep breath and put on his 'flirty Darren' façade. "Oooh …me gusta!"

"What…these are my 'doing' clothes" Chris said seriously, but he could not hide the blush that crept up his neck. Sometimes he _thought_ Darren looked at him like he was the last dessert in the buffet line – and Darren _loved _dessert. Chris chastised himself. It was much too early in the day for the butterflies he was feeling.

"Ah, …okay Mr. Home Depot." Darren rolled his eyes as he crossed the threshold handing both cups, in their little card board holder, to Chris. Darren felt wicked. Well, he _always_ felt wicked, but he decided _not_ to restrain himself at that very moment.

"I don't know _who_ you plan on doing, but I have feeling I'm the only one here… so I _hope_ its _me_."

Chris felt his stomach dance with nervousness at Darren's words. It would be so easy to forget his plans for the day and spend it curled up on the couch with Darren in his arms where he always felt warm, loved and complete.

Darren made his way to the dining room and flung himself backwards over the nearest chair, imitating 'Kurt's' now infamous 'Animal' pose. "My body is ready!"

As Darren came up both boys caught each others eyes and immediately they started laughing, _hard_. The spell had been broken. They were just friends again.

"My god, Darren, you've got to stop trolling …and you've got to stop sending me those gifs" Chris was wiping away a tear he was laughing so hard.

~o~0~o~

Darren stopped laughing abruptly when he saw the living room. "What is the name of Potter is this shit"

"Don't curse" Chris chided.

"Sorry..." Darren corrected himself "What in the name of _hell_ is this shit"

"Much better" Chris smiled coming up behind him. "This is our project for the morning."

Chris walked tentatively into the middle of the living room, stepping over pieces of wood, screws, brackets and hardware. "It's an entertainment centre."

"…And it exploded in you living room?" Darren questioned, eyeing Chris suspiciously.

"Not exactly... I got it like this."

"Why?" was all Darren could say, he eyes surveying the seemingly hundreds of pieces.

"Well I was shopping at Wood You ..." Darren shook his head at Chris' words. This was going to end badly. When Chris went shopping it always ended badly. "…and I saw an entertainment center I absolutely _loved_, but they did not have an assembled piece in cherry wood and of course everything else here is cherry wood…"

"Of course…And?" Darren was waiting for the bad ending.

"And they said they couldn't have one assembled and delivered until next Saturday and we were gonna be back to work…"

"And?" Darren sat down bracing for impact, he had a feeling it was gonna be worse than he thought.

"They said it's not hard to put together and they could deliver an unassembled one this morning. …_Ta Da_!"

"Oh. …I'm gonna need much more than coffee to deal with this Christpoher. I need a drink"

"Darren, it won't be that hard …I promise" Chris whined, his voice pleading, going up an octave.

As Darren was heading to the kitchen he spied a little blue gift bag, with a bow on it, on Chris's pass through. "What's that?" he asked casually "One of the cast have a birthday coming up?"

"No, actually it's a 'Thank You' gift"

"For who?" Darren was rummaging through Chris' cupboards wondering why he didn't buy a muffin or two while he was at the coffee shop.

"For you… for helping me today."

Darren came round the corner with a Pop Tart in his mouth. "For me?" He grabbed the gift bag off the counter.

"For helping…" Chris stated, taking the bag back and putting on the counter again.

"Can I open it now?" Darren began to peek inside.

"You can't get a Thank You gift until you've done something to _deserve_ the Thank You. Eating my food does not count… Are you gonna help me or what?"

"If I say '_Yes_', can I open it now?"

"No!"

"Come on… I _promise_ to help you, …and the bow is _so pretty_ and I won't be able to concentrate with it sitting here taunting me. Please. …_Please_. …_**Please**_." Darren gave Chris his best puppy eyes. Chris stood his ground, shaking his head no.

It was time for Darren to pull out the big guns. He sauntered over to Chris, wrapped his arms around the taller boy's waist and tilted his head up slightly, adorable pout still on his mouth and in his eyes. He rocked side to side in Chris arms, much like a child would when attempting to get their way. "Honey, I promise to help. May I please open the present now?"

Chris could smell Darren's curls, feel his hands burning him through his shirt. And his hips. _Oh_. _My. God_. What was he doing? Trying to drive Chris insane? Chris could feel his body starting to betray him, but he treasured the feeling of Darren this close, doing these things to him for just a moment longer. "Fine." He conceded, knowing Darren would untangle his arms from around his waist and rip into the present. Because Darren so predictable, - _not_.

Darren gave Chris a chaste kiss on the lips, before pulling away and heading to the counter. "Yay! Thank you!" he called over his shoulder.

"What …no tongue?" Chris said, brain recovering quickly, rest of his body - not so much.

"I don't even know what it is yet?" Darren was taking out the tissue paper. "I'm not just some _floozy_." Chris rolled his eyes and leaned on the dining room table, willing the heat in his belly away. Sometimes it seemed Darren was a walking sound bite – a parody of his actual self.

"Wow …a …ring…" Darren held up the oil rubbed band, looking at it in the light. "I don't wear much jewelry…"

"Yeah, I know…" Chris was stepping forward, "but it was so _you_. Look closer."

So Darren made a show of staring at the ring, holding it close, holding it far and somewhere in between he saw _it_ in the pattern encircling the ring. There was a 'D' then a backwards 'D'. No, it was a 'C', an overlapping 'C'. The ring was a series of 'D's and 'C's overlapping each other making and elegant pattern. Darren's heart began to pound again.

"Chris…" he whispered, "it's our initials."

Chris tilted his head to the side and came in close to scrutinize the ring. But he knew what was there. "Well actually… its 'DC' for Darren Criss." Darren's heart dropped.

"But it _could_ stand for Darren _and_ Chris?" He looked at Chris hopefully.

"I guess it _could_…"Chris relented. _Did Darren sound disappointed_ he wondered. "The big question is: Do you like it?"

"Yeah, man I love it!' His buddy Darren was back. The older man slipped the ring on his right hand, flexing his fingers a few times to get accustomed to the band.

"So now that I've got a ring… are we going steady or what?" Darren's eyes sparked mischievously.

"If by 'steady' you mean, steadily insane than the answer is most definitely 'Yes' " Chris dropped the banter and became serious. "Now can we start on this thing?"

~o~0~o~


	2. Would You?

~o~0~o~

Darren had never wanted _not_ to do something more in his life. He was overwhelmed - and distracted. Chris was kneeling beside him on the living room rug mumbling about "How it wasn't going to be that bad" and "How hard could it be?" Darren groaned in response.

"I have no idea what I'm doing?" Chris looked up from his mumbling. "I don't know if I can do this?" Darren rephrased his statement.

"Honey, …I've got this" Chris replied patting Darren's leg. "I just needed an extra pair of hands and your drill."

"What do you mean 'You got this'?" Darren asked.

"I'm gay - not physically or mentally challenged. I'll have you know I even took a semester of shop in high school. There are many tools I know how to use and according to my teacher I am very adept at it as well. Just give me a couple hours and I'll show you how good I am" Chris stopped his soliloquy abruptly looking Darren straight in the eye. What he saw in Darren's eyes was a mixture of amusement and disbelief. Chris quickly played over in his head what he had just said, squinted his eyes and said "What? I'm just saying I'm handy…"

And with that Darren burst out laughing, rolling on the floor, holding-his-sides laughing. He tried to calm himself and between giggles he toyed with his best friend. "So what you're telling me is you're not a tool but you know how to use one."

"Exactly!" Chris replied glad they were on the same page. Unfortunately his answer just made Darren laugh harder.

"Okay, ..okay I'm done" Darren stuttered a few minutes later " I'll give you and your tools three hours to show me what you can do…" He gave Chris a big wink and with that he broke down again.

~o~0~o~

It was way past lunch and the only thing that had been built in the last three hours was the boys' growing frustration. Chris was upset because he couldn't understand why the piece was not coming together easier and Darren was upset because his last free weekend of the summer was slipping away.

"Are you gonna feed me or what?"

"What… Darren?"

"Are you gonna feed me or what? Times up dude …I gotta go. _Buuuuut_ …if you say that there is lunch involved I could be convinced to stay awhile longer."

Chris dropped the side panel he was holding and walked into the kitchen. He came back out two minutes later with a can of Diet Coke and a kid sized carton of an apple juice. He handed the latter to Darren and then flopped on the couch. "Pizza will be here in 15 minutes. I guess we can take a break."

"Thank god" Darren breathed, coming to sit on the couch. He stretched his feet across the couch and rested them on Chris' lap. "Honey, massage my feet," he said sweetly. Chris lifted up both of Darren's legs and dropped them on the floor. "Humf… you're no fun" Darren said placing his feet back in Chris' lap.

Chris turned to Darren and gave him a half smile "Dar, I'm sorry, I just didn't think it would be that hard. I know it's our last free weekend and I wanted to spend it with you – just not doing this" and gestured to the scattered pieces of wood all over the floor.

"Well let's just call it a day and take a road trip or something after lunch… You keep promising to take me to the observatory, but we never go" Darren pouted his lip and looked at Chris from under his lashes.

"I can't Dar, you know I'm not a quitter I can't let this thing beat me."

"So you're gonna spend your last weekend of freedom hunched over 56 pieces of cherry stained wood? Come on…"

Chris shook his head, not budging, still determined to finish the entertainment center. "Please, _please_, _**please**_… buddy, pal, bestie, …sweetheart, do it for me, _pleeeease_" Darren whined.

Darren jumped off the couch, arms flailing all over the place; he _wanted_ to let Chris know what was really bothering him, but instead he just started jabbering: "Man, I'm so stressed right now. We get our scripts next Tuesday… I mean… will I stay a Warbler, move to McKinley, join the foot ball team, get the crap beaten out of me… Chris, man, I need to move, or run, or dance, or something, the not knowing is setting me _crazy_!"

"Aaaaww, does 'Blaine' need a hug?" Chris said in his sweetest Kurt imitation.

"No actually, 'Blaine' needs to get laid…can you help with that?" Darren shot Chris a look as serious as death. And electricity seemed to fill the air.

Chris flushed pink and was just about to open his mouth when the door bell rang. "Pizza's here" he squeaked and headed for the door.

~o~0~o~

Five minutes later they were each on their second piece of pizza. They had both decided ignore Darren's last remark and were now hashing out how they would spend the rest of their weekend.

"Just give me two more hours" Chris pleaded. "I can't leave the living room looking like this."

"One hour, … plus no one but me comes over here anyway" Darren replied "and I don't come for the furniture, I come for the company …and no I don't care how many tools you have, or how good you use them…" Darren barely got out before having a laughing fit.

Chris shoved him, _hard_. "Ninety minutes …and I promise to take you to Griffin Park and you can run that cute backside of yours off… and if you're a good boy I'll even bring a Frisbee for you to fetch."

"ARF!" Darren barked without missing a beat, and then he leaned over and licked the side of Chris' face.

"Uh, get off" Chris shoved him again, wiping the saliva off his face, then his wet hand onto the front of Darren's shirt.

"Deal?"

"Deal…" Darren conceded "but I'm plugging in my ipod because the tunes you've been playing are killin' my joy."

They had played by Chris' rules all morning and now Darren was determined to enjoy himself one way or the other.

~o~0~o~

Forty minutes later Chris was rolling his eyes, _again_. "Watch it Colfer" Darren joked "your face just might stay like that."

'Then stop messing around Dar" Chris said in mock seriousness, but he could not hide the smile behind his words. "Just pass me the screws..."

"What you wanna screw? Oh my, …this is so sudden Christopher" Darren feigned shock…

"SCREW!" demanded Chris.

"Well if that's _really_ what you want… I can give you a screw… I love it when you're so demanding Christopher… You put the _man_ in demanding" Darren then made a growling noise.

"I'm glad you're having fun Dar." Chris hung his head trying hard not to laugh "Do I dare ask for the drill?"

"Oh my…" Darren continued, "Who's doing the drilling? Or do you wanna take turns? I don't mind going first…" He slipped behind Chris and made some lewd movements behind his back.

"What are you doing back there?" Chris spun around, unable to contain his laugh any longer.

"Just practicing for later" Darren quipped and gave him another wink. Chris' cheek flushed pink. He couldn't help it…he hated when Darren got like this …all flirty and wicked and touchy feely. It made it so hard to just be friends with him. But he had to admit to himself the friendship was so worth it. Darren understood him. They both worked incredibly hard and Chris was happy he found someone who shared so many of his interests and someone who was cool with staying in on their days off, chilling, talking, watching movies and getting take out. He had a best friend that he got to hang out with at work and at home. His life was perfect, _almost_.

"Are gonna help me flip this over so we can get the back on?" Chris realized his mistake too late.

"What you want it back on? You naughty boy…" Darren chided "I like it from the front so I can look in my lovers eyes." Darren caught Chris' eyes with his own. His tone changed and he said directly to him "And lover, …you have beautiful eyes."

Chris' heart skipped a beat, maybe two. He knew Darren was just playing around. He reminded himself that they were just joking – just trying to get through putting this piece of furniture together without killing each other. Darren had made his heart skip a beat before and he would do it again, he was just being 'flirty Darren'.

And 'flirty Darren' was rapidly closing the gap between them. Wrapping his arms around Chris' waist and giving him his brightest one hundred watt smile. "Come on Darren..." Chris reprimanded trying to free himself from the older boys grasp. "Stop playing around… you promised me thirty more minutes."

"And what happens after thirty minutes?" Darren questioned, speaking softly into the hollow behind Chris' ear. Chris stopped struggling.

"Then we'll go to the p-park, l-like I p-p-promised" Chris stammered, striving once again to free himself. He could barely hear himself, his blood was racing in his ears and his heart was pounding and he had the distinct feeling other parts of his body were going to start to betray him if he did not get out of Darren's grasp.

"What if I don't want to go to the park anymore?" Darren whispered his lips ghosting over Chris' neck.

"Okay then, w-we can do anything you w-want." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Chris tried to back pedal, realizing too late how desperate he sounded.

"Anything..?." Darren breathed against his skin.

"No, I mean, I mean s-something else we both w-wanna do…" Chris' throat caught as Darren pulled him closer.

"Ahh Colfer, you are making this just too easy" Chris could hear the smile in Darren's words and his heart dropped. Darren was fucking with him, teasing him, getting enjoyment from Chris' discomfort.

Anger welled up in Chris like dam threatening to explode. "Get the fuck off me Criss!" The younger man screamed still fighting to get out of Darren's arms. "I mean it, you're about ten seconds away from me kneeing you!"

Reluctantly Darren let Chris go. Chris stepped back able to look into his friend's eyes for the first time since their sensual exchange started. The same anger he had mere seconds ago had vanished without a trace when he saw Darren's eyes.

Over the last year Chris had prided himself in learning Darren's moods, reading his eyes and deciphering his attitude from his stance. As far as Chris was concerned, Darren was an open book and Darren had long ago stopped lying to the younger boy whenever Chris read his mood – because Chris was always right, _always_.

But Chris had _never_ seen Darren's eyes like this. They looked lost, questioning and there was a look of something else in there that he just could not put his finger on. Darren's pupils were so wide. Chris had never seen this look before, or had he?

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and cleared his mind, trying to remember if and when he had ever seen Darren's eyes hold that particular combo of spark and depth.

"Chris…" the quiet call of his name broke Chris out of his reverie. Chris jumped a little as Darren touched his arm. "I'm sorry Chris…I don't know what I did to piss you off, but I'm really sorry…We cool?"

Chris looked _at_ Darren again. Chris looked _into_ Darren. He took a step back and leaned against the arm of the sofa and crossed his arms. He hoped this casual gesture was enough to hide both his trembling and contain his heart which he was quite certain was about to burst from his chest. Chris had finally recognized _the look_. He _had_ seen it before…in the eyes of 'Blaine Anderson' as they had shot the season finale, almost 5 months ago. It was the look he gave 'Kurt' before he had said 'I love you'.

"Dar, what are you thinking?" the younger man asked as steady as he could.

"I'm thinking I screwed up and you're mad as fuck at me" came his honest answer. "You're so mad your trembling."

"Dar, what were you thinking, a minute ago, when you were …h-h-h-olding me?" _damn that stutter_ Chris thought.

"Like I said, …I'm sorry" Darren took a step closer.

"No Darren, you're not answering the question. What were you thinking when you were whispering to me?" Chris was grateful he had his stammer under control, now if he could only work on the trembling…

"Chris…" Darren hung his head.

"Could you look at me please?" The question came out a little too high pitched for his liking.

Darren raised his head and looked Chris straight in the eyes, getting lost for a moment in the blue pools. Chris smiled at him. Holding out a hand for Darren to take _if he wanted it_. Darren took another step towards Chris; he took the hand offered to him and held onto it as if it was his safety line between this world and the next. He remembered the lyrics of song he had heard on the radio just this morning on the way here. _Jump, then fall_. _Jump, then fall_.

"Okay…" Darren began, squeezing Chris' hand and receiving a reassuring squeeze back. "Earlier I was thinking… I was wondering…if you ever thought about us being more than friends. There I said _**IT**_! It's out there. …That's what I was thinking, that's what I've been thinking about for the last six months, _alot_."

Darren released Chris' hand and ran both of his hands through his hair, letting out a huge sigh. He was also looking everywhere else in the room but at Chris.

~o~0~o~

Chris stood up from the sofa arm. And reached out for Darren's hand. He lead him back to the middle of the living room. And with more bravado than he actually thought he had he started barking out orders.

"Mr. Criss. This is your mark right here. We will be doing a second take of the first scene in this act. You are free to improvise."

Chris took Darren's arms and wound them around his waist. He looked into the shorter man's eyes and smiled. "Come on Darren..." Chris said, coyly pretending to try to free himself from the older boys grasp. "Stop playing around… you promised me thirty more minutes."

Darren smiled, leaning into Chris' neck he spoke softly into the hollow behind Chris' ear: "And what happens after thirty minutes?"

"Then we'll go to the p-park, l-like I p-p-promised" Chris stammered, still pretending to free himself, but purposely grinding into Darren's hips. Darren let out a gasp.

"What if I don't want to go to the park anymore?" Darren whispered seductively, kissing Chris' neck softly and returning Chris' grinding motion.

"Okay then, w-we can do anything you w-want." Chris took his hands and ran them up Darren's back ending at the base of his neck where he absentmindedly curled a lock of Darren's hair around is finger.

"Anything..?." Darren breathed against his skin.

"Anything you want..." Chris replied looking down at the man in his arms.

"I'd like to k-k-iss you…" It was now Darren's time to stutter.

"Ahh Criss, you are making this just too easy" Chris countered, but his tone was serious. He raised Darren's chin, made a mental note of the look in his friend's eyes and leaned in to kiss him.

The blood rush was back. His ears were ringing, his heart was fluttering and his stomach felt as if he had just drank thirteen cappuccinos in the space of an hour. Chris was trembling again, but Darren did not notice because he was trembling too.

The kiss was soft and slow, tentative, measured, neither boy wanting to fully believe that it was actually happening. But what Chris felt more than anything was that the kiss was full of potential, full of promise and the most honest kiss he had ever received.

As they broke away from each other their smiles were back, both in their eyes and on their lips.

"So…" Chris said cheekily, grabbing Darren's ass and pulling him in tighter. "was there anything else you were thinking of…?"

"Yes," Darren said his eyes glittering with restrained laughter "but I wouldn't want to scare you off."

"Try me" Chris countered and Darren could tell he was serious.

Darren blushed, and though the two of them were alone in Chris' apartment, Darren stood on his toes and whispered something into Chris' ear causing the taller boy to blush and grin mischievously.

Chris' grabbed Darren's arm and wrapped it around his and declared: "Why, Mr. Criss… well I never ever…" and swatted the hand on his arm.

Then Chris dropped the act and said in all seriousness as he pulled Darren to him again: "I think we need to spend the afternoon getting to know each other better. Is that alright with you?" In response Darren kissed him a second time. This kiss was needier than the first and Chris' breath caught as Darren's tongue met his for the first time.

"I'll take that as a Yes" he smiled, wrapping himself around the older man.

"What about the Entertainment center?" Darren asked breathlessly.

Chris turned and looked at the partially finished piece of furniture in his living room then back to Darren. "Ah screw it!" he conceded and dragged Darren down the hall to his bedroom.

As the bedroom door closed you could hear Darren's voice, ripe with sarcasm: "You know Chris… I'm only doing this 'cause we're going steady".

* * *

><p>Epilogue:<p>

They never finished the entertainment center. It spent the next two weeks in an half assembled mess monopolizing the living room. Darren didn't mind that much because it meant they could spend more time in Chris' room _getting to know each other better_.

Then one day he came by and it was gone. He was shocked how much he missed it. He felt like it was a tangible representation of his love for Chris.

Chris waved it off saying something about it being too big for his apartment any way and Darren conceded that it was nice to have room to slow dance.

But Chris had not gotten rid of the Entertainment Center. He had it stored somewhere very safe. And very soon he hoped to share his hiding spot with Darren.

But that's another story...


End file.
